And Now.... DENMARK
Teacher Page

WHY DENMARK?
"In the continuing debate throughout the ... [West] on the present and future health of the welfare state," wrote Hilary Barnes in a 1997 issue of Scandinavian Review, "a hedge that has grown somewhat unruly is being trimmed back into shape." But, he added, "no one has any idea of uprooting the hedge." Among the Nordic countries, that observation still holds. Despite shifts in foreign and domestic priorities since 9/11, Nordic societies are still permeated by egalitarian ideas. Denmark, for example, has tightened the qualifications for social welfare benefits. But it is still a society where everyone can count on basic healthcare, education, and assistance when in economic straits. In fact, a 2004 report by "Save the Children" finds that — among 119 countries studied by this group — Denmark ranks second (after Sweden) as a place where mothers and children do best

CRITICAL TERMS
The term welfare state does not carry exactly the same overtones within Europe as it does in the USA. You may want to discuss this term with students before they examine the Student Text Page, just to let them ventilate their assumptions about its meaning. Then tell them that, while the term does not appear on the Student Text Page, it is the topic of the second paragraph in the segment "Faring, sharing." Ask them to reexamine their reactions to welfare state after reading about the Danish experience. Other terms you may wish to preview: constitutional monarchy, diplomacy, faring, gross domestic product (GDP), parliament, per-capita income, self-sufficiency, self-governing territory, service-based economy, strategic, UN peacekeeper, Viking.

FOUR BIG QUESTIONS
The questions at the top of the Student Text Page are meant to encourage research — not to limit it! Indeed, students working independently may come across such additional, high-interest topics as the evolving role of Greenland and the Faroe Islands within the Danish kingdom (especially in this century), or the role that Denmark itself plays in the important, but little-heralded, Arctic Council.

The four leading questions are basic, however, and can be used as the focus for a class study unit and discussion. Access to the Denmark Map Page should be helpful when exploring the first question — as would access to the Denmark Data Page, when discussing the second. Here’s some additional background on the questions:

1.   "In what sense might a huge wind turbine symbolize Denmark's vision of the future?" The global need for clean, renewable energy is such a basic concept in our time, that student readers can be expected to bring some understanding of that concept to their reading of the paragraph dealing with Denmark's wind turbines. You may want to point out that Danish interest in this quest is further sharpened by the country's signature of the Kyoto Treaty and its membership in the European Union (which is committed to sustainable economic development). But the Danes' involvement in wind power actually goes back much farther than either Kyoto (1998) or the formation of the EU (1993). In 1891, Poul La Cour, a Danish pioneer in the field of aerodynamics, generated the first wind-powered electricity. And Danes have been involved in that field ever since. Students interested in a broad overview of such efforts might enjoy an online report taken from the Greenpeace archives, "Denmark — Birthplace of Modern Wind Power". Those interested in more technical (and fascinating) details about a wind farm's construction can consult this report, available online: "Horns Rev Offshore Wind Farm".

The constant challenge of responding to opportunities and constraints within their environment has led the Danish people to develop skills in other fields, too. You may want to have students consult the unit's Map Page as they speculate on what some of those skills might be. Denmark's peninsular shape, its relatively long coastline, and its position at the entrance to the Baltic Sea would surely suggest a need for shipbuilders — before, during and after the Viking Era. And the country's many islands (there are 406!) might hint at the need for bridges. In fact, Danes have been networking their country with bridges for more than a thousand years. Capping that long history, the Øresund Bridge — linking Copenhagen, Denmark to Malmö, Sweden since 1999 — has the distinction of being the first direct road-and-rail route, ever, between Western Europe and neighboring countries across the Baltic Sea.

2.   "What's the key to Denmark's economic success?" Students may address this question on several levels. As the opening paragraph of "Faring, sharing" makes clear, Danes have few natural resources: good soil, schools of fish, some timber, petroleum.... And, as the preceding segment suggests, Denmark used — and uses — its geographic location to foster trade, most recently becoming a destination of choice for global traders dealing with the Baltic area. It's a mark of its success in this effort that Denmark ranks tenth, worldwide, in per-capita share of national import-export trade (2003). No surprise, either, that the world's largest provider of deep-freeze compartments and other specialized containers for hauling maritime goods is Maersk Sealand — a privately owned shipping company in Denmark.

But with a little digging into Denmark's history, students will find that a movement to form farm cooperatives in the late 19th century also played a key role in the development of the nation's modern-day economy. (See, for example, the article on "Denmark" in the Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia.). Cooperatives were a first step in helping Danish dairy farmers form an efficient, competitive industry. And that step led to increased research on related endeavors: the development of improved machinery for food processing, packaging, refrigeration, and transport. Today, the fastest-growing sectors in Danish industry — biotechnology, information technology, environmental protection, and energy conservation — are indebted to the Danes' skills in cutting-edge research.

3.   "How do traditional values influence its policies?" On the Student Text Page, the second paragraph under "Faring, sharing" and the segment on "Reaching out" propose that Danish policies toward needy citizens — and countries — reflect a carry-over from a cultural "belief cherished by their ancestors." In Løgstrup's words, this belief is that "we ... hold part of each other's destiny in our hands." In a general sense, such values can have many points of origin: religious teachings (84 percent of Danes are Lutherans), ancient myths, cultural customs, etc. So, when starting to discuss Question 3, you might suggest that students reflect on how such a belief might have taken hold among Danish seafarers and farmers in isolated villages, centuries ago. Then ask to what degree Denmark's modern welfare — and/or foreign-aid — policies may represent the same value.

Students in government courses who look at welfare legislation as part of a national system may be interested in researching four types of "welfare models": (1) Under the classical "Scandinavian model," comprehensive benefits in the fields of health, education, employment, and retirement are generous — and the same for everyone. (2) The UK's "Beveridge model" was also a "cradle-to-grave" program when it began, though its focus was primarily on the neediest members of society. (3) The "Bismarck model," named for Germany's renowned 19th-century chancellor, introduced the concept of compulsory social insurance for non-professional ("blue-collar") laborers. And (4) the so-called "subsidiarity model" — frequently advanced as a model for our time — identifies the family itself as being responsible for contributing to its own "social insurance." Prompt students to search for examples of each model among nations today!

4.   "What role does Denmark play in today's world?" Beyond its role as generous donor of foreign aid, Denmark is clearly focused on improving trade and political relations within the Baltic region (see the "Reaching out" segment). It is also an active team player in multinational organizations that developed among European nations after World War II — NATO and the EU, for example. Student researchers will learn that Denmark took an active role in NATO operations during the conflict in Kosovo, and that — despite suffering casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq — it has stood with the USA in the fight against terrorism. They'll find also that Denmark was among the first of the EU's 15 members to ratify the Amsterdam Treaty (effective as of May 1999) — a treaty that focuses on such "people" issues as employment, the environment, and consumer protection.

Danes have been divided, however, over whether to exchange their Danish Krone for the EU's new currency, the euro. As recently as September 2000, they voted not to do so. Thus, even though highly qualified (by economic and fiscal criteria) to adopt the euro, Denmark remains one of three EU members maintaining their sovereign currencies. For an excellent and detailed overview of Danish foreign policy vis-à-vis the EU, NATO, and especially the USA, see the following June 2004 address by Ulrik A. Federspiel, Denmark's Ambassador to the United States: "Transatlantic Cooperation in the 21st Century: A Perspective from a Small European Country." Not only does this document provide a clear articulation of the values, principles, and goals to which the Danish government is committed. It also offers a rare insight into the self-perception of a small, vigorous society as it faces the real challenges of the 21st century.

LE wishes to thank the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington, DC, for underwriting the costs of developing this unit and making it available to our electronic audience! We hope that the unit meets LE's goal of serving the needs of teachers and students in Grades 7-12.